Dodgers and Warriors co-Owner Peter Guber has completed a deal to acquire the Triple-A PCL Oklahoma City RedHawks from the company he leads, Mandalay Entertainment, and sign a new affiliation agreement between the RedHawks and Dodgers. The RedHawks had been affiliated with the Astros for the past four seasons. In the acquisition, Guber will personally assume half of the RedHawks equity and managing control while the other half will be held by a consortium of Dodgers owners including Guber, Mark Walter, Todd Boehly, Bobby Patton, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson. Financial terms were not disclosed but sources said the purchase was for around $25M. That is below the nearly $40M garnered earlier this year for the Single-A Midwest League Dayton Dragons and the more than $30M paid by former MLB Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg for the Class AA Texas League Frisco RoughRidgers. "This is a significant enhancement to the Dodgers organization," Guber said. "Oklahoma City is a growing and vibrant market. The team plays in a wonderful ballpark. And we're big believers in the minor league baseball business." Existing RedHawks management, including President & GM Michael Byrnes, will be retained. Mandalay is divesting its baseball interests and has now completed deals for the RedHawks, Dragons, RoughRiders and a half interest in the Triple-A Int'l League Scranton-Wilkes Barre (Pa.) RailRiders, garnering more than $100M in total. The company is still seeking to sell the Double-A Eastern League Erie SeaWolves. Guber said there was nothing unusual about leading a private purchase of a team previously held by his company, calling it an "arms-length transaction," and one that he said happened only after another potential deal to sell the RedHawks failed after nearing completion. "When the other deal fell through, we moved quickly and opportunistically," Guber said.
